Dontre Wilson (2) participates in the Under Armour All-America High School Game at Tropicana Field on Jan. 4, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Wilson signed with Ohio State on Wednesday. / USA TODAY Sports

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CentralOhio.com

By the Rankings

Ohio State snagged 10 of the nation’s top 100 players, according to 247 Sports, nine of the top 100 in Rivals.com, eight of the top 100 as rated by Scout.com and eight of the top 100 in ESPN. Overall, Scout.com rated OSU’s class No. 1 in the nation. The Buckeyes are second to Alabama in Rivals.com and 247Sports, and third, behind Alabama and Florida, according to ESPN.com.

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COLUMBUS — For years Ohio State talked of building a fence around its home state to lock up top football recruits.

On National Signing Day Wednesday, Urban Meyer’s highly regarded class took a Buckeyes-Beyond-Borders approach.

“We would rather be not so much national,” Meyer said of his 25 newest players. “Ohio State has a history in Florida and my background is there because I coached there. But we’d much rather have a base here.

“But it was a great day, I thought it was going to be a very good day but now it’s a great day. Guys are excited.”

Ohio State hauled in one of the nation’s top three classes, depending on your choice of recruiting service. Scout.com listed the Buckeyes’ class No. 1, just ahead of No. 2 Michigan; Rivals.com and 247Sports rated the Buckeyes No. 2, trailing Alabama, and ESPN.com had OSU at No. 3, behind Alabama and Florida, respectively.

The group includes 23 signees, 15 of them defensive players. There are 11 Ohioans, topped by Middletown all-purpose athlete Jalin Marshall. The newest Buckeyes were plucked from 10 states, including Ohio, Texas, Georgia Florida, California, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana, and Missouri.

“If 25 of the top 50 players in the nation are from Ohio, than we’re going to go get them,” said assistant coach Tom Herman. “First and foremost we’re going to get the best players in the state of Ohio. But if we have to go beyond our borders to fill our needs, that’s what we’ll do.”

Herman was on the front line of that philosophy. He was instrumental in luring three of the top 15 players in Texas.

“Tom Herman did an excellent job in Texas, an area that hasn’t been real strong for Ohio State traditionally,” Meyer said “We pulled three outstanding players (athlete Dontre Wilson, quarterback J.T. Barrett and linebacker Mike Mitchell).”

The OSU staff had no regard for address or a prior commitment when it came to flipping Wilson from Oregon to Ohio State. A 5-foot-10, 174-pound speedster from DeSotoa, Texas, he’s expected to add the game-breaking threat Meyer has sought since taking the job 15 months ago.

“If he becomes the type of player I think he will, Buckeye Nation is going to like that kid,” Meyer said. “We got two 10.5 sub 100-meter guys (in Wilson and Florida’s James Clark). Dontre and Jalin and James Clark, when it comes to making big plays, those are three guys we would put in that category.

“We just didn’t have enough make-you-miss guys (last year), and I think we addressed that.”

Ohio State’s best Signing Day story came out of Georgia, where safety Vonn Bell chose the Buckeyes over Alabama and Tennessee. Bell is considered one of the best safeties in the nation, and could see immediate playing time.

“Vonn Bell, that was a street fight. Up until two minutes before I got the call (Wednesday morning), I was on the treadmill because I couldn’t take it anymore,” Meyer said. “When I got the call, he said, ‘You know I’m in, right?’ I said ‘No, I didn’t.’

“(Assistant coach) Everett Withers, from start to finish, that was one of the greatest recruiting jobs I’ve ever seen. I call it the octopus technique. He had his tentacles on every person involved with that kid’s life.”

On the flip side, Maryland receiver Taivon Jacobs, an OSU commitment for months, signed with the Terrapins – perhaps a casualty of the higher-rated Clark and Wilson crowding the depth chart at his position.

The strength of the class seems to be in the secondary, where Bell is one of seven athletes, topped by New Jersey cornerback Eli Apple, the highest-rated recruit in the class at No. 11 overall, according to ESPN. Apple was an early enrollee and is already on campus.

“I think we have two corners that if they didn’t early commit would be as good a corners as there are in America, and that’s Eli Apple and Cam Burrows,” Meyer said. “In the secondary, those are all long players, good speed and I think we got a couple of impact players.”